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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951944">I'll Sing You Songs Until The Darkness Does Recede</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_will_be_my_death/pseuds/Writing_will_be_my_death'>Writing_will_be_my_death</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Magnus Archives (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Additional Tags to Be Added, Archivist!Martin, M/M, sasha is the head of institute, that's for u to figure out, there are things happening and i would like people to try and guess, where's jon u ask?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:01:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,942</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951944</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_will_be_my_death/pseuds/Writing_will_be_my_death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"You're the new head archivist, congratu-fucking-lations. Comes with your salary doubling. Gertrude's already left you a personalized note soooooo…" he rolls his head to the other side. "You can't say no."</p><p>"I-I-I don't think it uh, works like that? But I mean! I'll take it!"</p><p>~~~</p><p>Martin Blackwood has been requested to be the Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London. What a shame he's a liar, but at least it's an open secret. Not that he knows that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Promotion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Me? Starting a new fic when i already have 2 crew reports, 1 directors report, an english essay, a director presentation, and 3 other fics on the go? It's more likely than you think.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Martin Blackwood stands in the back of the library of the Magnus Institute, behind the locked door and hunched over and hiding as usual. There are only the quiet Leitners back here, new books that probably should be Leitners but have worked in locks that make them safer and hold no nameplate. Still, they're placed behind a lock just in case. As much as Martin likes working the front, it's safer back here. The quiet Leitners don't know his CV is filled with lies, and if they did, they likely wouldn't tell anyone.</p><p>"Martin," Yvonne, the librarian at the front desk calls through the radio. "Mr. Bouchard wants to talk with you."</p><p>Shit.</p><p>"Yeah, I'll be right out!" He replies, faking the cheeriness in his voice.</p><p>Maybe the quiet Leitners aren't so quiet after all.</p><p>He rushes out of the back, preparing to hear the worst news very soon. He knows that the Magnus Institute isn't the most reputable place on a CV without a contact or good education.</p><p>Martin walks out of the backroom, and immediately sees the gaunt, tired face of Elias Bouchard. He smells more heavily of weed than usual.</p><p>"Oh! Um! Mr. Bouchard!" Martin says as he locks the door behind him. "What do you need?"</p><p>Elias' head lulls to the left. "I'm promoting you to head archivist."</p><p>What.</p><p>"I-I’m sorry, what?"</p><p>"You're the new head archivist, congratu-fucking-lations. Comes with your salary doubling. Gertrude's already left you a personalized note soooooo…" he rolls his head to the other side. "You can't say no."</p><p>"I-I-I don't think it uh, works like that? But I mean! I'll take it!"</p><p>His salary would double, god, that would make everything easier.</p><p>"Great! You can head over there now," Elias says as he meanders away.</p><p>"Um!" Martin starts. He has so many questions. "Just ah- why me? A-and what happened to Gertrude, and-"</p><p>Elias sighs dramatically. "Gertrude isn't needed anymore, so we got to quit, then you were asked for to, uh, 'fill her role'."</p><p>"Wait wait wait, you're quitting too? Who's the new head of institute? And who asked for me? Aren't you at the top?"</p><p>"It's uh, Sasha James who'll be the new head. Oh, and a, uh, Timothy Stoker, from research, will be your 'archival assistant'. Don't work him to death."</p><p>Elias begins to whistle as he starts meandering away again.</p><p>"I'm fuckin' outta this place!" He shouts to the tune of his previous whistling and continues whistling until he's left the library entirely.</p><p>"What the hell was that about?" Yvonne shouts back at Martin.</p><p>"I, uh, got promoted? And Elias quit," Martin replies as he walks over to Yvonne at the front desk.</p><p>Yvonne snorts. "You deserve it. Best librarian in here, we'd be lost without you."</p><p>"Thanks?"</p><p>"I am glad Elias quit though, I've no idea why that James Wright guy had him lined up to be his successor. I mean, you know the only reason he got anything done was because Gertrude was always on his ass."</p><p>"Oh god, I'm glad the few Times I've met Sasha she seemed way more capable than Elias, I’d hate to have to also help the head of institute and figure how the hell to be head archivist-”</p><p>“Wait, you got promoted to head archivist?” Yvonne screams, making Martin jump. “Oh my god, you’re so screwed, you have no idea.”</p><p>“I’ve worked here longer than you, Yvonne, I know the horror stories,” Martin sighs. “It’s just, it’s double my current salary.”</p><p>“Okay, yeah, mysterious potential death is totally worth that. What do you make currently? 40K?”</p><p>“41, if we’re being specific.”</p><p>"I would totally risk getting mysteriously murdered for 82k in this hellhole of an industry. Sucks that you won't be here though."</p><p>"Yvonne, you never saw me. This is the most we've ever spoken. Also, Gertrude quit, so not every archivist is found dead under mysterious circumstances."</p><p>"You kept the quiet Leitners organized! Even with the new additions artifact storage keeps giving us! It's insane!"</p><p>"That's because I met Gertrude on my third day here, she asked for one, I got the wrong one, and then vowed to know the whole section like the back of my hand after she was done looking at me like she was going to find a regular Leitner to force me to read."</p><p> </p><p>Yvonne lets out a hearty laugh. "God that must've sucked so much. Why were you even chosen?"</p><p>"Apparently someone above Elias specifically requested mean, whatever the hell that means."</p><p>"So… the Lukases? The most absent benefactors ever, specifically requested you?"</p><p>"I… guess? I suppose?"</p><p>"God, this is so disorganized. When do you start?"</p><p>"Elias said I could start immediately-"</p><p>"-but you're not doing that, right?"</p><p>"God no, I want to check out the Leitner version of 'The Quiet War' then head home to read and calm down."</p><p>"Martin, you cannot use that book as therapy!"</p><p>"That's literally what it's for, artifact storage said so!"</p><p>Yvonne rolls her eyes. "Fine, but only because everyone knows the archives are fucking haunted or something."</p><p>"Thank you," Martin says with a sly smile.</p><p>Martin watches Yvonne go to the back room. It's a shame, really, that they never spoke much before this. Sasha is going to find out that Martin lied on his CV, he knows it. He's not going to be able to make any friends before he's fired.</p><p>He should've said no to the position. He really should've.</p><p>When Yvonne comes back with the book, he takes it from her without saying anything. It's the only thing he knows will help. It has to help.</p><p>He leaves without saying goodbye to Rosie, or anyone else. Just walks out to the tube station, too stressed to care that he's taking more space than he tries to. Does dread going back to his unwelcoming flat that looks like it was once infested with worms.</p><p>He has the therapy Leitner and will soon have a much larger salary. He'll be fine.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Ȃ̵̭̉̐ŗ̴͛̃c̴͕͓̺͔̤̈̉͘h̴̙̎̋͒̾͝i̶̢̛̗̿͋̅v̸̼͙͙̘̼͌į̴̳͙͖̆s̷̢̻̥͉̯͒t̴̻̭̞̳͑ͅ ̶̹͒͠á̴͇̱͓̺q̷̡͖̞̆̏͊͛ų̴̜̬̜́̄̈́i̸͓̥͂ṛ̸̈́͠e̸̠̲̋̌̅̊d̷͙̋͑.̷̛̩͕͈̐͐.̷̼͕̊̓͘͝.̸̝̫̟̉̓͊͂͗ ̸̨͙͠͠A̸͎̲͒ŕ̵͈̪̓̑̇̈́c̴̠̦̰̻̆̓̃̇̒͜h̴̦̠̠̻̹̍̓̆ȉ̷̛͇̰̚v̴͖̦͍̯̮̔̑̆͝͝a̶͉̠͛l̵̢̯̠̘̈́̐̑͜ ̷̨̣̖̑A̵̧̠̋s̵͍̺͓̗͙̊s̷̹̼̺̈́̈́ͅi̴̧̘̓s̴̰̰̞͎̺̊̆͂̾̏t̸̘̤͉͕͛͐ã̶͍̜͓͙ņ̸̡̢̳̿̾̈̿ͅt̶̲̼̼̒͜ ̸̱͙̌̌͗̈́a̸̖̬̠͊̄̇c̷̰̙̻̐̊͝q̷̧̞̦̞͘ǘ̵͎̦̻̣͓͌͊̏i̵̥͍̒ŗ̷̻̫̦̞̄̉̿͘e̵͉͉͙̳̦͑̋ḑ̷̜̜̬̿.̶̠̺.̵̦͉͂̾͊̅̄.̶̯͔͙͌ ̴̢͐̊H̸̘̝̾ȩ̵̮̹̝̟̐̑̂͋a̷̡͉̭̝͌̒̉̿͐ḑ̷́͗̔ ̸̨͙͉̽̇̑͝o̷̭̓͌̓̑̃f̶͎̊̐̉ ̶̨͚̘̫̆Ȋ̶̫̮̣̯̿n̵͈̗̣͖̥̊̐̃͛ś̷̢̰͉t̸̟̩͓̦͕̔i̶̜̺͂͋͝͝ţ̷͑̃̉͠u̷̘̩̣͑t̸̨̹̯̉̇̀̑ë̸̢̛̞̳͉́͠ ̶̧͈̥̖̀̇̂͜a̷̙͈͚̞̽̎͌͝q̴̝̈͛͝ų̶̼̰͕͑̄͛̅͠i̸͎͚̩̍͗͑r̷̲̥̪̦͚̋͊̽͑e̵̫̠͆̈d̵̮͚̞̍̈́͒͗̅.̴̡̟̬̒̏̌̾̚.̷̬͋́͐.̷̗̻͍̞̠͑ ̵͔̹͖͓̱͝͠Î̵͖͎͕̪̆͒̾ͅ ̷͎͈̄̈́͑w̵̛̗͂ǐ̸̛̮̳̦̼͜l̵͚̫̦͖̪̈́̐̏̑̚l̶̨̡̲̈́̌̎̑́ͅ ̶̪̫̔̎͋ͅg̵͇̘̜̉ͅa̶̘̬͈̪͂i̷̼̹͓̰̅̈̽̓n̶̯̓̒̀̚ ̸͈͓̰͕̓̈́͐̚ͅt̵̡̲̤͉̍h̴̪̰̬̮̟̅͆̃͠e̴̠̬̺͊͋̅͘͘ ̶̦͉̹̦͆ḳ̵̍͊͝n̸̢̜̖̖͕̕ö̶̳̗́w̵͉̲̘͋͜l̷̠͓̦͑̈͌̑e̴̘̰̝͊d̵͙̫͕̮̅̐̀g̷͓͖̮̜̝ẻ̸̢̠͐͝ ̴̲̝̂͜͠I̵̺̩̜̓͑̈̅̒ ̵̹̯̥̰̻͝s̴̡̙̙̦̈́̈ë̸̦͍̞̣̾͝e̴͍̿͗k̷̬̱͍͕̆͆̌̏͠.̸̞͓͍́̍͒̃͐͜ͅ.̸̳͝.̵̡͇̝̱̮̓́̈͘</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Arrival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In retrospect, it was a bad idea to return the quiet Leitner version of 'The Quiet War' before going down to the archives. There’s a good reason why many people call it the therapy book, and even with his new salary, Martin isn’t sure he can afford therapy, no matter how much he’s going to need it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>wow i wrote this in like 1.5hrs. sorry if it sucks</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In retrospect, it was a bad idea to return the quiet Leitner version of 'The Quiet War' before going down to the archives. There’s a good reason why many people call it the therapy book, and even with his new salary, Martin isn’t sure he can afford therapy, no matter how much he’s going to need it.</p>
<p>The archives are impeccably organized by date, along with colour coded tabs on the files (some with more than one colour tab), and everything in pristine condition. Martin takes a deep breath and walks into his new office. The few files in there have even more coloured tabs on them, along with sticky notes, and Gertrude has left what looks like five entire filing cabinets full of personal notes.</p>
<p>On the desk, there’s a tape recorder and a folded paper with 'Archivist - Read and record this' written on it. It must be Gertrude’s note, so much for that personalization Elias spoke about.</p>
<p>He picks up the tape recorder. Why is it here? Surely a computer would record far better than this, tape recorders make things have a… low-fi vibe. Good for poetry, but Martin is pretty sure that Gertrude doesn't-</p>
<p>"Hey, are you Martin Blackwood?" Someone asks.</p>
<p>Martin whips himself around to face them. It's Sasha James.</p>
<p>"Sasha! Erm, Miss. James? Mrs. James? I mean, yes! I'm Martin!" God, she's going to fire him.</p>
<p>"Thank god. Here," she says, handing him a sheet of paper. "you never technically signed the employment form."</p>
<p>"Oh!" Martin takes the form from her. "So sorry about that," he continues as he searches the desk for a pen. "I went home early yesterday, stress, you know, just needed to uh, realize what a project I'd taken on!" Finally, he finds a pen, and signs the form.</p>
<p>Sasha scoffs. "What a project you've taken on? At least the archives are organized! Turns out, we're almost 100k in debt. The only reason we're not in more debt is because Peter Lukas doesn't know how to use a computer."</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" Martin asks, and hands Sasha the form.</p>
<p>"The Lukas family left Peter in charge of institute related finances as soon as he was of age to do it. Ever since Elias was promoted however, he's been trying to find a way to stop the automatic online payment," She sighs and shakes her head. "We can't afford to lose that funding, Martin. We really can't."</p>
<p>"Jesus, that sucks."</p>
<p>"Yeah…" she lets out a puff of breath. "There were some… weird things in the emails Peter sent."</p>
<p>"Like what?"</p>
<p>"Well, I got talking to him, right?" Her voice picks up in that way when someone is really invested in what they're talking about. "And he asked me if I was the 'real' head of institute' and obviously I say 'yes, I am the in charge of the finances and other administrative needs of the institute' but he went on to complain about how I wasn't Jonah, which the only relevant Jonah I know is the long dead Jonah Magnus,  but like I said, he's long dead. Peter went on to complain about how only Jonah could 'fix the world' and 'bring us back to power'."</p>
<p>What the fuck.</p>
<p>"What the… what? What does that mean?"</p>
<p>"I don't know, Martin!"</p>
<p>Martin sighs. "What the hell kind of power did the Lukases once have?" He asks under his breath.</p>
<p>S̷̜̦͔̫͉͙̾̄̈̓̔͌̚͠ţ̸̛̩̬̱̈́͌̅̒̚͜a̴̧̦̻̤͒͋t̸̨̲̞͆e̴͖̮͈̬̳̦͆̈́͗̕m̶̲͙͊̓̎͂e̶̱̜͚̐̑̅̉͝͠ṉ̸̯̈́͊͑̒t̴͔̞̒̑̊ͅ ̴̯̣̠̭̥͚̈̇̾̿̾̐͗̏#̵̨̖̲̘̣̳̻̺͘0̴̦̪̣͕̙̩͋̚1̴̰̭͇̪̠͊̋͆̽͜ͅ7̸̡̨̦̊̾̎͜͠2̵̧̛͇͕͎͓͌̿͋͆́͜͝8̸̢͈̖͚͕̋̈́͆͂̄0̷̡̠̮͔̤̭̟̅̿͛̽4̵̻͓͖͔̺͚̊̽-̸̨̻̦̝͛̆͌̌͠B̵̜͉͉̾͑͌</p>
<p>The sudden information almost makes Martin fall over.</p>
<p>"Oh my god," Sasha half-shouts, placing a hand on Martin's shoulder. "Are you alright?"</p>
<p>"I- uhm, yeah? I need… there’s a statement? I should look for? 0172804-B?" He says, and attempts to compose himself. It goes pretty unsuccessfully.</p>
<p>"I… thought you'd never been down here before…" Sasha replies skeptically.</p>
<p>"I haven’t, I just…" He trails off, and begins searching through the files in his office.</p>
<p>"Where are you going?" Sasha calls out.</p>
<p>He finds 0172804-B quickly.</p>
<p>"I found it!" He shouts back.</p>
<p>"What does it say?" Sasha replies as she rushes over.</p>
<p>Martin is halfway done reading the letter by the time Sasha is reading it too. When he finishes, he reads it again.</p>
<p>And again.</p>
<p>And again once more.</p>
<p>Then he tries to read Gertrude’s notes.</p>
<p>'Mr. Bennett's bones have been disposed of'</p>
<p>'Verifiably true'</p>
<p>'The Archive reacted poorly to this one- remind Elias to not read anything related to Jonah'</p>
<p>Sasha bristles against Martin’s arm. "What the fuck-"</p>
<p>"Hey guys! Hey Sasha, and Martin, right? New bosslady and bossman?" Someone calls, making Martin drop the statement.</p>
<p>"Tim! Don’t do that!" Sasha shouts back at him.</p>
<p>"Terribly sorry, Sash, just didn't expect to see you down here!" Tim says as he strides over and puts an arm around Sasha's shoulder.</p>
<p>"Get off of me," She laughs, and Tim's arm falls off of her. "You know the head of institute works closely with the archives."</p>
<p>They continue their banter, while Martin picks up the statement he dropped and places it back where found it. Somehow, magically, in the right place after the first try.</p>
<p>"Uhm, Sasha?" Martin starts, not really wanting to interrupt.</p>
<p>"Yeah?" She replies with a smile, turning to face Martin properly.</p>
<p>"How about you uh, catch Tim up on the weird Lukas stuff, and I'll read the note Gertrude left me?" </p>
<p>"Oh yeah, sure!" She says, then turns to face Tim. "It's really fucked up."</p>
<p>Martin watches them leave. He knows he'll never be included in their group, not really. He tells himself he doesn't matter. He's supposed to be the archivist, he doesn’t have time for friends! He's never had time for friends. He's never needed friends, not really.</p>
<p>It really doesn't.</p>
<p>What matters is this letter. </p>
<p>Martin clicks the tape recorder on, and opens the letter. The first line nearly makes him cry.</p>
<p>'Martin. I know you lied on your CV, as does Elias. Sasha and Tim will soon know as well.'</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>in case it wasnt obvious the statment is barnabas bennett's letter to Jonah.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Communication</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>T̥̞͔̱͉̞͎̈́ͪͩ͑͠u̝͔̭̺̹̖̩ͮͣ̋ͣͥ̈́̚͘r̛̦ͫn͚̘̜̈́ͤ̊͂̅͛ ͈͇ͧ̓a̟͉̺̤ͫͭ̅̈r̶̤̟͍͒ͮ̂͒́̏̉õ̢̽̄̎ù̘̼͇̗͢n͖͚̗̗̏̿d̳̩͎̠͇͖ͬ</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// shows up 3 months late with this short ass chapter //<br/>what up bastards im busy with film school</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Martin. </p><p>I know you lied on your CV, as does Elias. Sasha and Tim will soon know as well.</p><p>Since I am being completely honest, I'll at least inform you that it does not matter in the slightest. You were not chosen because of your abilities in the library, nor because there was 'potential' seen within you. To be fair, neither were Sasha and Tim. You three were chosen because the Archive believes you are important to it, especially you, Martin. It has also refused to elaborate on this.</p><p>I will explain to you in this letter only what the Archive does not wish to explain itself.</p><p>The archives are not a normal workplace, and this extends to the head of institute's office. Once you work there, there are only a few ways to quit. Either denounce learning anything new and stick to your word, traumatically and purposefully blind yourself, or ask the Archive for permission to quit. Thankfully, the Archive does not like it when people are upset and will certainly grant you permission to leave if you ask it.</p><p>The institute as a whole works to serve the Archive. This was not always the case, but the Archive wishes to explain that part itself. As such, while on paper the head of institute is the highest ranking and most powerful, it is actually the Archivist who holds the most power.</p><p>In terms of how the institute serves the Archive, the Archive feeds on knowledge. Statements are its preferred food, though learning anything, so long as it is recorded onto a tape recorder, will feed it. I should also mention that it can only hear what is recorded onto a tape recorder and warn you that eventually, once the Archive and Archivist are in sync enough, the Archive will be able to manifest tape recorders in… select locations. It will give you answers to your questions if they are direct enough, though it will not retain the knowledge that you asked that question. You, the Archivist  will find this asking ability to be the easiest.</p><p>You'll notice a tonal shift in the statements, that occurs sometime around 1996. The Archive prefers statements that occur after this tonal shift.</p><p>Oh, and, one final note. The archives and the Archive are not the same. This note was placed in the archives. The night following the Archivist's employment, the Archivist, archival assistants, and the head of institute, will meet the Archive.</p><p>With displeasure, Gertrude Robinson. If you have any questions, ask the Archive. Under no circumstances should you contact me."</p><p>Martin clicks the tape off, and takes a deep breath.</p><p>What the fuck.</p><p>There's no way Tim and Sasha would believe him about this. Sure, weird things happen at the institute, with Leitners and what-not, but this… is ridiculous.</p><p>When Martin leaves his office, Tim and Sasha are waiting right outside his office.</p><p>"So," Tim says, "What did Gertrude's letter say?"</p><p>"... Nothing useful, honestly. I think she was going a bit, y'know, down here." Martin replies.</p><p>"Oh, don't be like that. I met her once, and let, tell you, she was terrifying," Sasha adds. "I really don’t think she was going insane or senile or anything."</p><p>"I mean," Martin starts, "could be paranoia?"</p><p>Tim smiles in agreement at that.</p><p>It's nice, Martin thinks, to be included in a group like this.</p><p>Sasha leaves not too long after to continue sorting through Elias' mess and Martin asks Tim to help him figure out Gertrude’s filing system.</p><p>It's a fairly simple filing system, if a bit… tampered. Certain notes have been crossed out, sometimes even names within the statements have been covered in sharpie or white-out.</p><p>"Why did she block these ones out?" Martin asks aloud.</p><p>T̵̹̘͖̻̽ọ̷̗̉̓̿͐ ̵̺͕͇̜̺̫̥͐͒͊͐̿̔̕l̶̨̬̜̻̩̃̂͊͝ͅe̴̛̪̞̗͚̳̩͈̾̃́͘ṭ̶̲͔́̽͐̔ ̶̛̩͇̱͔̐̓͑̄͘͝ÿ̶̮͖̥͖̱͙͖́̈́͑̾ǫ̵͓͖̭̪̳̈́ủ̸̡͇̟̦̝̯ ̷̞̣̝̬̔ś̶̡͔̗͇͍͙̥̐͝͝ȩ̴̩͋̓̐̓͐e̸̛͙̱̤͔̼k̸̡̧̯̲͓̆̂̑̌̈͛̽ ̷̹̼̙̝͖̋̆͌̈ţ̶̖̻̱̣͇́̈h̸̢̛̟̩̼͙̑͂̄̓e̸̮̹͇̿͠ ̵̢̦̝̥́k̵̡̠̈́̓̑̿͝n̷̢̦̯̗̤̄͗͒̌͌ȯ̷̪ŵ̸̹̣̻͔͍̘͊͘l̵͍̱̫̾́ȅ̶͖̠̒͝ḍ̸̬̲̮͖̔̔g̵̨̧̛͙ͅe̶͖̪̊̅̈́̿͒̇̎</p><p>"I think you were right," Tim replies. "She really was losing it."</p><p>Martin doesn’t answer Tim. There was that knowledge, again, just knowing something. Maybe it's the archivist's curse or something and maybe that's what drove Gertrude insane.</p><p>Regardless, the day finishes uneventfully. Martin elects not to take home a quiet Leitner, he's an adult, he can handle these things.</p><p>At least, that's what he tells himself as he picks up the phone to call his mother.</p><p>It rings three times before the care home's receptionist answers.</p><p>"Hi, this is the Clairity Care Center, how can I help you?"</p><p>"I'm, uh, Martin Blackwood, and, um, I'd like to speak with my mum, Mary? Mary Blackwood?"</p><p>"Alright, one moment please!"</p><p>He knows what the receptionist is going to say next. It's always the same.</p><p>"Unfortunately, Ms. Blackwood isn't taking calls right now. Is there anything else I can do for you?"</p><p>Martin sighs. "No, no, I'm good. Thank you."</p><p>He hangs up before the receptionist can answer.</p><p>Looking at the kitchen, Martin decides against having dinner. He's too tired to cook, it's not like he can even afford that much food, and, well.</p><p>He doesn't deserve a good meal before sleep. At least he's used to sleeping on an empty stomach.</p><p>When he wakes up, he's at his desk in the archives, still in his pajamas. The archives, however, look… different. They feel almost... alive? But it's just a place that he somehow fell asleep at, no matter how much he could've sworn he went home.</p><p>T̥̞͔̱͉̞͎̈́ͪͩ͑͠u̝͔̭̺̹̖̩ͮͣ̋ͣͥ̈́̚͘r̛̦ͫn͚̘̜̈́ͤ̊͂̅͛ ͈͇ͧ̓a̟͉̺̤ͫͭ̅̈r̶̤̟͍͒ͮ̂͒́̏̉õ̢̽̄̎ù̘̼͇̗͢n͖͚̗̗̏̿d̳̩͎̠͇͖ͬ</p><p>He turns around, seemingly for no reason.</p><p>There stands a man, dressed in an oversized jumper decorated with embroidered flowers, a pair of jeans and a pair of boots. His clothes are faded, torn, and along with the boots, bloodstained.</p><p>And the man himself is all eyes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>external validation plz..... comments....</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i need to be stopped. i only make bad desicions.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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